The present disclosure relates to additive manufacturing and, more particularly, to removing conglomerated powder from within an internal passage.
Precision engineered parts such as gas turbine components may be manufactured by an additive manufacturing operation such that features associated with conventional manufacturing processes, e.g., machining, forging, welding, casting, etc. can be eliminated to facilitate savings in cost, material, and time. Additive manufacturing often results in conglomerated powder building-up around, and within, the completed component as an artifact of the process. When additive manufacturing a component that has internal passages, this conglomerated powder often becomes entrapped in the internal passages and is difficult to remove.
For example, an Electron Beam Melting (EBM) additive process partially sinters all powder bed material as part of its process before full melting a local area to form the cross section of a part for each build layer. As a result, partially sintered material may become trapped within the internal passages.
There are currently few methods that directly and rapidly remove the conglomerated powder. One standard practice may include repeated use of an accelerated media blast, combined with mechanically scraping. Another standard practice includes, mega sonic or ultrasonic vibratory methods to liberate the powder particles. Oftentimes, such practices are still inefficient at removal of removing conglomerated powder from within the internal passages.